Gaseous electric discharge device



Aug. 24, 1943. D. w. ABERNATHX 2 GASEOUS ELECTRIC DISCHARGE DEVI CE Filed April 1, 1 42 L.) 22 DAVID W. ABERNATHY A TTORNEY atente'd Aug- 1 j zszmss' 2,327,755 GASEO'US ELECTRIC DISCI IARGE DEVICE David W. Abernathy, Chicago, Ill assignor to Products Development, Inc, Chicago, ML, a corporation of Illinois Application April 1, 1942, Serial: No. 437,133 1 Claim. (cl. 240-718) This invention relates to an improved and simplified circuit for striking an arc and maintaining a constant operating voltage in a tube con--' taining conductive gases and more particularly rescent lighting tube and embodying my. new invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a lighting fixture used in fluorescent lighting andembodying relates to an improvement in the apparatus de- 5 my new invention.

scribed in my copending application Ser. No. Fig. 3 is a schematic sectional View of the fix- 422,060, filed December 8, 1941. ture shown in Fig. 2.

' The object of this invention is to provide a The numeral It! represents a gaseous discharge simple and fool-proof circuit for starting and optube such as the type filled with conducting gas erating gaseous discharge tubes, such as, for exand having the walls thereoi'coated with mateample, those known as fluorescent tubes.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved circuit for gaseous discharge tubes in which the stroboscopic effect caused by For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of my invention, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawing a preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description. my invention, its mode oi constructi'on, assembly and operation, and many of its advanciated.

Referring to the drawing in which the same characters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout the several figures of the drawing: V

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of an V electrical circuit used in connection with 9,

rials which fluoresce when an arc in the tube causes emissions of electrons and the consequent production of rays of certain wave lengths, in a well known manner.

- such tubes operating on-altematlng current will The tube it is connectedwith a source of a1- be substantially eliminated. ternating current, such as an alternating cir- A further object of the invention is to provide cult li e by e l s H d wh r an apa novel and improved circuit for gaseous di'spropriate alternating current voltage maybe imcharge tubes which will provide a greater amount pr s ed a r s h .Said t e W P --v of illumination than normally possible with such vided with filaments it at Opp ends th circuits. and between which thelpath of arc or discharge of A further object of the invention is to provide the tube is adapted to be established. Said filaa novel and improved fluorescent lighting fixture ts e connected by branch circuit l arwhich will provide upward as well as downward n d Parallel h dis harge path, havin a illumination. I i starting switch l5 of a well-known type therein.

'A further object of the invention E to provide The lead M s p i ed h resistive elements a circuit for a fluorescent, lighting fixture having ll arranged parallel with a condenser IS, in sesubstantially no useless energy dissipation. r163 with a Switch 1 a U s also Provided With the foregoing and other objects in view, with a line switch It. v Which-Will appeal" as the description proceeds, The resistive elements II'I comprise incandesthe invention consists of certain novel features e lamps of the o e v ety. p e ra y oi construction, arrangement and combination of frosted. hey y b ed in series or P parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in $1161 depending D h Voltage drop desired the I accompanying drawing, end particularly occur across same.

1 pointed out in the appended claim, it being un- The device op ates as f llows: derstood that various changes in the form, pro- The switcheslfi and I9 are closed and the portion, size-and minor detafls of the structure switch I5 also momentarily closeds heats up may be made without departing "fr th spirit the filaments l8, thereby producing clouds of'elecor sacrificing any of the adva ta of th mtrons in'the tube It] and lowering the value of veution. 4o voltage needed to ignite same. During this pe-;

riod the net voltage drop across the resistive elements is substantially line voltage minus the small drop in the filaments l3. Then .the switch l5 x which is oi the well-known sell-operating variety opens. p The capacity of the condenser 18 has been chosen rather large, inorder that it require a tages should be readily understood and-app're:

comparatively longtime to discharge.- During the'time that the switch l5 was closed the condenser II! was charged by the voltage'exlsting across the resistive elements l1. When the switch I5 opens, the charge on'the condenser commences to leak off, butthe polarity of the line changes. before the entire charge can leak 03; hence, on the next half cycle. the voltage impressed across the tube In is equal to line voltage plus that portion of the discharge voltage of the condenser I8 which has not as yet leaked off same.

The combined voltages reach and exceed the ignition voltage of the tube Ill, and therefore, cause the arc to be struck. Since the conductivity of the tube when the arc has been struck is considerably greater than the conductivity of the resistive elements II, the condenser l8 will preferably discharge through the tube sustaining the ignition voltage a suflicient time to establish ionization discharge in thetube l0.

The greatly increased conductivity of tube l after discharge has been established will thereafter permit flow of current therethrough and i cause the operation of the tube at normal voltage. The condenser i8 and the resistive elements I1, in parallel, now serve as current-limiting impedance.

The condenser l8 may now be removed from the circuit by opening switch l9, and eliminating reactive influence upon the line. Thus with only the resistive elements I! in the'circuit, the same will have a power factor of one. This, of course, reduces the costs of maintaining my circuit.

I have shown incandescent lamps in use as the resistive elements 11. In prior circuits, where a ballast included any manner of resistance the operation of the circuits provided for the dissipation of energy by the resistance as a means of limiting the flow of current through the tube H). In my invention, however, I utilize the resistive elements for one or more of three purposes.

. In achieving these purposes, I install the incandescent lamps ll of the circuit on top of the fluorescent fixture or within the same, or in both places. i

The lamps 'I'I on top of the fixture serve to illuminate the dark space above the fixtures. I Where many fixtures are used, as in industrial plants, ceiling illumination would normally re-' quire many fixturesand much power not serving a productive purpose. With my new invention, not only are superfluousfixtures eliminated, but no more power is used than would normally be used by the'downwa'rdly directed fixtures themselves. This arrangement also finds valuable use in merchandising establishments where it is necessary to illuminate the ceiling for display purposes and for the improvement of the appearance of the establishment.

Those of the lamps IT that are disposed within the fixtures serve not only to add to the illumination derived from the tubes ill, but also temper the light from the fluorescent tubes with illumination of different Wave lengths. Further, since the lamps I! are incandescent, the alternation of polarity of the line. does not affect the illumination derived therefrom. The fluorescent tubes ill, of course, will produce illumination consisting of as many flashes as the alternations of the current in the line. With the augmented illumination afforded by the use of lamps I! in accordance with my invention, the otherwise produced stroboscopic efi'ect is substantially eliminated.

In Figs. 2 and 3, I have shown a fluorescent fixture comprising a large reflector 20. suspended from the ceiling by any appropriate means such as cables 2i. Within the reflector 20 are provided fluorescent tubes II). In accordance with my invention, the circuit used in the fixture is that shown in Fig. 1 which utilizes incandescent lamps I1. I have shown such lamps installed both within the reflector 20 and on top of the reflector, although obviously either group could be eliminated. ljteierence characters 22 representing housin'gfor various electrical elements, such as condensers, sockets, switches, etc.

It is believed that my invention, its mode of construction and assembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood from the foregoing without further description, and it should also be manifest that while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described for illustrative purposes, the structural details are nevertheless 'capableof wide variation within the purview of my invention as defined in the appended claim.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: Y

In combination, a reflector, gaseous discharge means providing fluorescent illumination arranged within said reflector and adapted to have illumination directed downwardly, an electrical circuit for. initiating and maintaining the arc in the gaseous discharge means, said circuit including an A. C. source of potential for operating said gaseous discharge means, a filament heating branch short-circuiting the gaseous discharge means, a capacitive element mounted on said reflector and connected into said circuit in series with the arc discharge path within said gaseous discharge means, and a resistor element in said circuit serving to cause said capacitive element to be charged while said filament heating branch is short-'circuited, said capacitive element impressing its charge across the gaseous discharge means, together with line voltage when the shortcircuit is opened, thereby igniting said gaseous discharge means, said resistor element comprising a plurality of incandescent lamps arranged to augment the illumination obtained from said gaseous discharge means, at least one of said lamps being arranged on the outside of said reflector.

DAVID w. ABERNATHY. 

